


Sleeping In

by Delouest



Series: Sigh No More - Malika Cadash [4]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Pre-Revelations, Sleeping In, Writing Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-13
Updated: 2015-06-13
Packaged: 2018-04-04 06:48:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4128771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Delouest/pseuds/Delouest
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was a surprise when Blackwall found himself waking up on a bed with sheets so soft he could hardly feel them instead of rough burlap and the smell of horse droppings he was used to.<br/>~*~<br/>Scene based on the prompt: "Sleeping in"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sleeping In

It was a sort of penance that Blackwall put on himself that kept him from requesting an actual room at Skyhold. The barn was fine, better than he deserved in his mind. He was used to travelling, used to sleeping on the ground. Having an actual roof over his head was certainly a step up from camping in the woods, even if it housed beasts of burden. Was that not, after all, what he was? Hay bales were scratchy, and he was convinced he was allergic. His morning routine involved much sneezing, itching and pulling straw from his beard. But it suited him fine.

So it was a surprise when he found himself waking up on a bed, with sheets so soft he could hardly feel them instead of rough burlap and the smell of horse droppings he was used to. He had a moment of confusion, a flashback to his younger days in Orlais waking up in an unfamiliar place with an unfamiliar woman.

But then he saw her face: Malika Cadash, curled into a tight ball against his arm. This was new. It took him some time to get his bearings, to shake off the memory of things Thom had done and be present in the moment of Blackwall. The pair of them were still fully dressed. He thought back to the night before, staying up late, talking about nothing and everything until sleep must have caught up with them. Blackwall could not remember the exact moment, just the sense of comfort and happiness that allowed him to drift off.

An itch on his foot made Blackwall suddenly overly aware that he was still wearing his boots, that he was surely going to tear the Inquisitor’s fine bed coverings... if he hadn’t already. He could already hear Josephine’s voice in the back of his head, scolding him for being so careless. Panic spread through him as he struggled to figure out a way to remove himself from the bed before Malika woke and realized he’d spent the night, stayed without an invitation. He’d already done enough without forcing himself on her.

But then something miraculous happened. As Blackwall worked to untangle himself and slip out back to the stables where he belonged, Malika stirred and sighed. With hands that were strong from years of drawing her bow, she tightened her grip. He could not escape if he wanted to (though he very much did not, even if he believed he should). He would have gone on thinking she was sound asleep and unaware of her actions if it hadn’t been got the words she said as she pulled his arm around her. “Where do you think you’re going? S’cold up here.”

Blackwall chuckled. Malika’s head rose and fell with the motion. “That could be because you never made it under the covers last night.”

“Who needs covers when I’ve got a Grey Warden to keep me warm?”

Malika’s eyes were closed, settling in for a lazy morning of sleeping in, so she did not see Blackwall’s face fall at the words. “Who indeed, My Lady. Who indeed.”


End file.
